Amazon joins the exclusive club of stocks that are higher since the coronavirus rout began

Published Tue, Apr 14 20201:48 PM EDT

(This story is for CNBC Pro subscribers only.) Longtime tech darlings Amazon and Netflix became the latest names to exit the coronavirus-induced bear market this week. Here are the select few winners that are shaking off this historic market sell-off and actually going higher. As of midday Tuesday, 28 companies in the S & P 500 have managed to make back their losses and eke out a gain since the market topped out on February 19 and began its stock rout. Amazon and Netflix follow in the footsteps of a handful of biotech firms and consumer staples that recovered first. Shares of Amazon rose more than 4% to a new all-time high on Tuesday to join this exclusive club as investors bet on increased demand amid the nationwide shutdown. The stock is up nearly 22% this year now. Tuesday's gain pushed its market capitalization to more than $1.1 trillion. Netflix also reached a new 52-week high on Monday and resumed its strong comeback Tuesday. The streaming media company has soared 28% this year so far as it benefits from the stay-at-home trend as well. "Amazon became a utility in this crisis - defensive, reliable, indispensable," Josh Brown, CEO of Ritholtz Wealth Management, said in a tweet on Tuesday. "Netflix became a pharmaceutical, an inadvertent cure for mass anxiety, a panacea for a populace trapped in their homes." The S & P 500 was down 34% from its record high of 3,393.52 on February 19 to its low during the coronavirus sell-off. An apparent improvement in the U.S. coronavirus outlook along with a vow of unlimited stimulus from the Federal Reserve bounced stocks off their lows recently. The benchmark was about 18% below that record on Tuesday. Investors have also been bidding up shares of many biotech companies, especially those with initiatives to develop coronavirus treatment or vaccines. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals is the biggest winner in the S & P 500 so far, rising 30% since the market's peak on February 19. Last week, the company initiated test trials of an arthritis drug as a potential remedy for the worst symptoms of COVID-19. Gilead Sciences also led the market gains after its drug remdesivir showed promise in a preliminary coronavirus trial. Another group of winners has been consumer staples, which are considered classic recession-proof stocks. Dollar General , Walmart , General Mills, Campbell Soup and J.M. Smucker have been major outperformers as investors piled into defensive names. These staples are also getting a boost as consumers stock up on food and household items for the unknown future.

(This story is for CNBC Pro subscribers only.)

Longtime tech darlings Amazon and Netflix became the latest names to exit the coronavirus-induced bear market this week. Here are the select few winners that are shaking off this historic market sell-off and actually going higher.